The Bitcoin lightning network capacity hit a new milestone this week, with over 4000 bitcoins (worth approximately $116 million at current prices) locked in channels. The latest milestone comes off the back of a significant increase in user engagement in the last few months.
Bitcoin Lightning Network Adoption Finally Takes Off
The Bitcoin Lightning Network was launched in 2018. The narrative behind the protocol’s invention is to assist the Bitcoin blockchain in conducting a fraction of the transactions, hence enabling quicker and cheaper transactions.
Being the first of its kind, though, there was skepticism as to whether the technology was efficient enough to scale through. Notwithstanding, the last four years have seen the network grow tremendously. The network made its first significant record in 2020 when it hit the 1000 BTC (worth $9.5 million at the time) capacity mark, with 13,185 nodes and 37,480 active channels engaging the network.
A year later, not only did the number of bitcoins on the Bitcoin Lightning Network double, but the nodes almost doubled as well. 2021 also saw the number of active channels on the protocol rise to about 80,000.
Today, lightning channels hold a little over 4000 BTC, with about 85,396 channels and 17,659 active nodes operational. Putting that figure into perspective, the protocol houses two times the value that it did mid-last year, with a 6.25% increase in the number of channels.
Comparing the latest data to prior ones, it is safe to say that the alternative payment solution has recorded more exposure hence attracting more users.
Crypto Exchanges Enabling Support for Bitcoin Lightning Network
A year after the launch of the bitcoin lightning network, crypto exchange Bitfinex adopted the protocol on its platform. Leading peer-to-peer crypto exchange Paxful followed suit in September 202, allowing its more than six million users to send and make payments with bitcoins via the protocol.
Popular crypto exchange OKCoin also integrated the lightning last year, shortly after it announced plans to do so. Notably, crypto exchanges adopting the bitcoin lightning network to their platforms is a contributing factor to its growth.
Source: https://coinfomania.com/bitcoin-lightning-network-capacity-4000-btc/#utm_source=rss&%23038;utm_medium=rss&%23038;utm_campaign=bitcoin-lightning-network-capacity-4000-btc